Killing off protagonists?

[beres-ford.livejournal.com]

Hello. :D

I have a quick question, which I suppose is debatable because...well I've been debating for weeks over it.

Should protagonists be killed off?

I have one particular protagonist (there's more than one) in a story I've been writing for almost a year and as the storys developed I've come up with so many different endings for it. And one of which includes this character dying.

Another is that this character dies and then comes back to life, but that's been used so much that I'm wondering if it'd be better if they just stayed dead.

Should I kill off my protagonist?

Comments

[tracy-d74.livejournal.com]

If the death is needed for other characters to develop. Kill them off. Books do it all the time (Harry Potter, Shakespeare is the king of this). I just killed off one of my favorite characters, but it had to be done. Bringing the person back to life? Well, if you have established the rules for such a thing in your book, you can. But the foundation for the ressurection needs to be in place, otherwise it is very soap opera-ish.

[beres-ford.livejournal.com]

Yes you're right there! It never occured to me, which I find ironic considering Harry Potter and Shakespeare are one of my favourites in the book department.

I know I thought the ressurection thing was very soap opera, I don't think I'd use that one to be honest, at least I wouldn't unless I get a flood of inspiration.

Thanks for answering. I've found it really useful! :)